Mali's capital is preparing to welcome one of the continent's oldest photography events. The 15th Rencontres de Bamako, the African Photography Biennale, will run from 26 November 2026 to 26 January 2027, and its official selection of 49 artists has now been announced.
This edition is titled "Refabulation(s)". As presented by the organisers and the Malian press, the idea is not to embellish reality or escape it, but to take back stories that were sometimes confiscated and to shift inherited ways of seeing.
The selection reaches beyond photography to include video, installation, sculpture and performance. Among the featured names are Mahmoud Khattab from Egypt, Haythem Zakaria from Tunisia, Hiba Baddou from Morocco, and artists with ties across Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Ghana and Congo-Brazzaville, such as Tobi Onabolu, Melinda Fourn-Houngbo and Nicolas Premier.
Curated by Armelle Dakouo, with El Hadj Amadou Diop as general delegate, the exhibitions will spread across four venues: the Palais de la Culture Amadou Hampâté Bâ, the Musée National du Mali, the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers Multimédia Balla Fasséké Kouyaté and the Maison Africaine de la Photographie.
The biennale is organised by Mali's Ministry of Crafts, Culture, Hotel Industry and Tourism. Local cultural spaces have until 15 October to propose events for the OFF programme, and press accreditation closes on 31 October. Founded in 1994, the Rencontres follow an edition titled "Kuma", held from November 2024 to January 2025.
